Where did the "Christian Right" come from?

Some Baptists / Fundamental Christians are direct descendants from the Original Puritans.

If you research facts about the Puritans - - - you will find they tried to force the British (I think) government to accept their belief as rule of law. They were very forceful politically in trying to force a God government.

When they were shut down - - they came to America and tried to establish their religious law here. They felt they were persecuted because they didn't get their way in their homeland.

Sound familiar.

Our founding fathers noticed a variety of religions popping up in different areas. Which is why they made it clear all beliefs were welcome in the new country. And there shall be no established religion.

Originally posted by darkhorserider
reply to post by Jerk_Idiot

 

I think you nailed it. That is exactly what I was thinking.

If you look at Facebook, the posts that are religious are always agressively defensive in nature. Like they are daring someone to take the "Christ" out of Christmas.

For the record, there is nothing wrong or illegal about prayer in school, so long as no one is forced into doing it, or belittled for not doing so. There is nothing wrong with the Christmas holiday, except for the retailers hijacking it.

I get really annoyed at all the Religious stuff being thrown in my face, and I really, really hate the ultimatum type of posts that must be "shared" or otherwise you are a god-hating communist, LOL! BUT, I feel like that particular segment of the population was probably driven back inch by inch by the opposite segment, and now we've reached the point where their backs are against the wall and they are pushing back.

I think the argument is pretty stupid from both sides. But then again, I am a Liberatarian who believes everyone should be allowed to do their thing, and nobody should be forced to do anything.

On the other hand, you also have lots of stories about some killjoy trying to remove Christmas decorations or remove a memorial to the war dead or some other mean spirited things. You got jerks on both sides of the equation trying to force their beliefs or non-beliefs on others.

reply to post by darkhorserider

Oh by the way something I found funny. When I tried to mention it before I was censored but I will try it a little differently this time.

If you believe in evolution and not God then there can be no "God given rights" as are enumerated in the constitution. That also means that people are not equal, born equal, or entitled to equal rights. That is all based on the "God given rights" of those that believe in God. Without those "God given rights" what happens?

Originally posted by DOLCOTT
Oir country was formed specifically on Christain values, which if followed I believe nobody could argue that they are wrong in anyway. However since we have become a nation of special interest groups and once what was called the Moral Majority has become everything is acceptable, respect is something you get from a rap song, and teachers and parents are the scourge of the earth.

Something I learned recently that im sure was or is never taught in American schools is the fact the first American settles, ie those Puritans, Settled in America since they wanted to form a community where they could have strict Puritan values and no form of religious freedom for its people, NOT to flee religious persecution. Not to mention Puritans despised Quakers... to the point they even hanged a woman because she was a Quaker. Very Christian of them...

The founding Christian values of America are not the values of true Christians, they were nothing but extreme religious bigots... does explain the religious right in America... hundreds of years latter they still have the old puritan vein throbbing in them stronger than ever. Not as extreme but still very apparent.

Originally posted by Annee
Some Baptists / Fundamental Christians are direct descendants from the Original Puritans.

If you research facts about the Puritans - - - you will find they tried to force the British (I think) government to accept their belief as rule of law. They were very forceful politically in trying to force a God government.

When they were shut down - - they came to America and tried to establish their religious law here. They felt they were persecuted because they didn't get their way in their homeland.

Sound familiar.

Our founding fathers noticed a variety of religions popping up in different areas. Which is why they made it clear all beliefs were welcome in the new country. And there shall be no established religion.

edit on 13-11-2012 by Annee because: (no reason given)

Opps beaten to the punch.. should have read to the end of the Thread

Originally posted by BigfootNZ

Something I learned recently that im sure was or is never taught in American schools is the fact the first American settles, ie those Puritans, Settled in America since they wanted to form a community where they could have strict Puritan values and no form of religious freedom for its people, NOT to flee religious persecution. Not to mention Puritans despised Quakers... to the point they even hanged a woman because she was a Quaker. Very Christian of them...

The founding Christian values of America are not the values of true Christians, they were nothing but extreme religious bigots... does explain the religious right in America... hundreds of years latter they still have the old puritan vein throbbing in them stronger than ever. Not as extreme but still very apparent.

No problem. I hope you continue to reinforce the facts.

I've posted the real truth about the Puritans before - - - and never got a response. It doesn't "fit" the agenda many posters here want to promote. So they either ignore it or skip over it.

"Christian Values" doesn't really hold much weight. They are simply normal and logical rules of a progressive human society.

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Here's another one they ignore or skip over. Often referred to as the Original Ten Commandments.

SOLON'S 10 COMMANDMENTS (638 B.C.E. In 594 B.C.E)

Rev. Meg Barnhouse June 10, 2012

It is often said that our nation’s ethics derive from the Ten Commandments of Moses. If you look closely at them, though, they don’t reflect American values very well at all. Solon the Athenian was born around 638 B.C.E. In 594 B.C.E he was elected to create a constitution for Athens, in the process becoming the founder of Western democracy and an early proponent of equal rights for all citizens.

Diogenes listed the Ten Commandments of Solon (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 1.60):
1. Trust good character more than promises.
2. Do not speak falsely.
3. Do good things.
4. Do not be hasty in making friends, but do not abandon them once made.
5. Learn to obey before you command.
6. When giving advice, do not recommend what is most pleasing, but what is most useful.
7. Make reason your supreme commander.
8. Do not associate with people who do bad things.
9. Honor the gods.
10. Have regard for your parents.

austinuu.org...

Originally posted by Jerk_Idiot
reply to post by darkhorserider

 

Oh by the way something I found funny. When I tried to mention it before I was censored but I will try it a little differently this time.

If you believe in evolution and not God then there can be no "God given rights" as are enumerated in the constitution. That also means that people are not equal, born equal, or entitled to equal rights. That is all based on the "God given rights" of those that believe in God. Without those "God given rights" what happens?

False equivalency. Believing in evolution (which is an empirical FACT) isn't mutually exclusive with believing in God.

So, your whole post is utterly meaningless and irrelevant.

reply to post by DazedDave


From about 1960 to 1975, churches of various faiths had done some soul searching, replacing old liturgical traditions with new, reaching out to other faiths, and becoming inclusive rather than exclusive. In the secular world, citizen action in civil rights, anti-war, environmental, and women's movements upset the status quo in govt and culture.

From 1975 to 1980, those who disliked the above and wanted a return to the old ways, reached out (via mass mailings) to forge a voting block, which was welcomed by the GOP. The GOP became the home to conservative "values voters" and Christian conservatives/fundamentalists. Reagan's 1980 election was the coming out party for this movement. Politics gave this group power and life for the next three plus decades.

After the turbulence of a changing world, where status quo was questioned, this new voting block found solace in authority, unquestioning faith, no gray areas to ponder, and a culture where each person had his/her place (and had better stay there!) For ex, the GOP courted the Southern Baptist groups who were against the "mixing of the races". And what could hold together a coalition of Northern conservative Catholics and Southern Baptists? ...anti-Roe v Wade.

Of course, as business/corporations banded together to influence politicians, it helped the GOP to have a block of voters bound to the authority of their churches, who would receive "voters guides" via conservative Christian organizations. Their base would be told to go to the polls to vote for Christian values, electing politicians who would then be under the influence of corporations.

By 2003 Pres George Bush could count on Christian Right End Times believers to support his Middle East war in Iraq. I personally felt it disgusting that, at a time when soldiers were coming home missing body parts and disfigured, over 200,000 emails from a conservative organization's plea were sent to the FCC over an exposed nipple at Super Bowl.

BTW, the dividing of the country into warring camps, "you're either with us or against us" ideology Bush was able to use to great effect, can be traced to the Christian Right's early days of separating Americans into believers and unbelievers, i.e. Republicans and Democrats. This brand of Christian fervor has always been around, but once it was given political favor and power, that power became magnified with the advent of new mass communication technology.

Originally posted by Annee
Some Baptists / Fundamental Christians are direct descendants from the Original Puritans.

If you research facts about the Puritans - - - you will find they tried to force the British (I think) government to accept their belief as rule of law. They were very forceful politically in trying to force a God government.

When they were shut down - - they came to America and tried to establish their religious law here. They felt they were persecuted because they didn't get their way in their homeland.

I've read a few books on Puritans in the dim and distant past and the conclusions have been what you say here; it's not so much fleeing religious persecution, it's a case of not getting the religious persecution they wanted.

It's interesting that there's this argument now about the Christian right in America and the idea of separation between church and state because, in Britain during the 1500s and 1600s religion was politics. It was impossible to split the two: Puritan religious support helped drive the split between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, for example. I can understand a 1700s argument as to why it was needed, but the early Pilgrims didn't see it that way, if anything, the opposite.